Tilman Hoppstock: Articulation in Bach's Music
Hi All!
I am delighted to welcome back Tilman Hoppstock for a lecture on Bach – one of the many areas of musical scholarship in which he has distinguished himself.
Ever since I first attended his lectures on Bach at the Royal Academy of Music in London, I knew this was something special. Far from speaking in do's and don'ts , in must's and should's, Tilman offers exciting and adventurous ways to understand Bach's music, almost like looking at the same music written on the page through many different lenses. It gave me the inspiration to approach Bach's music with imagination, and I hope it will for you too.
Do leave your questions below. We look forward to seeing you then!
All best,
Emmanuel
Bach’s music is a cornerstone of the guitar’s repertoire. As much as it can be beautiful, it can be rich and complex in texture and in its discursive quality. Articulation, perhaps more than any other musical parameter, allows us to break down the complexity and make the music ‘speak’ to our audiences.
Tilman Hoppstock is synonymous with Bach scholarship and guitar excellence. We are pleased to welcome him for a presentation and conversation with Emmanuel Sowicz on performing Bach’s music on guitar.
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I cannot attend, but I will watch it later. Here is a question that I would love to hear addressed.
As an amateur, intermediate level guitarist, there can be a sense of intimidation with Bach, like his music is only for master, elite-level musicians. It can sometimes feel as if doing something egregious like putting some slurs in the wrong place will lead to Bach rolling over several times in his grave.
Do you think Bach's music should be played by guitarists of all levels, and if so, how should his music be approached by amateur musicians like myself?
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It would be very helpful for us guitar students to you to provide a suggested list of essential Bach Repertoire going from Intermediate to advanced level. This can help provide us with direction in the selection of the most important pieces to approach with some order and sequence based on playing level. It would be most appreciated if such a list can be posted in the discussion thread. Thank you!!
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I also have questions that I would love to hear addressed. It is about ornamentations in Prelude, Fuga and Allegro BWV998. There are so many different interpretations available and it is really hard for me to make a personal decision about how to play it right or wrong - or playable or not !?
- This Piano Version I think is very impressive. (it is played very straight without ornamentations in the repetition and in the Fuge you can hear the Themeneinsätze very clear and loud - I like this very much ! But I remember my guitar teacher in the past told me "It is nice that you know all Themeneinsätze ( ich meine die Variationen des DUX
= Themeneinsätze in den verschiedenen Stimmen ), but please do not play the piece in a way. "Hey, here are they - can you hear them ?! "This Pianoplayer makes it the whole time and I think it sounds great !?
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- In this Version all repetitions are played with different ornamentations. I like this very much but on the guitar I use to play it in a different way with "guitar-ornamentations" "02" "424" etc. - there is not much place to play ornamentations in the Allegro ?!
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- On most of the guitar recordings the upper voice (vor allem in der Fuge) stands in the front and is played as "Melodie"....all other voices are played as an accompany .... Very often you can not hear the "Themeneinsätze" - because they are not played in front...( and it is unbelievable hard to bring it to the front !!!
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(Don't get me wrong - I like Ana Vidovics performance very much - took this just as an example - could take any other guitar interpretation also ....!!! )
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Questions:
- Should we play ornamentations in BWV 998 generally ?
- Should we play ornamentations in the repetitions (especially in the Allegro 998) ?
- Should we bring the voices with the "Themeneinsätze" to the front ? ( it is unbelievable hard to to this, if it is not the upper or lowest voice
) - What is your personal "Youtube-Reference-Recording" on BWV 998
Thank you so much for you help - my brain is smoking about this stupid questions
Best Regards
- This Piano Version I think is very impressive. (it is played very straight without ornamentations in the repetition and in the Fuge you can hear the Themeneinsätze very clear and loud - I like this very much ! But I remember my guitar teacher in the past told me "It is nice that you know all Themeneinsätze ( ich meine die Variationen des DUX
